Roelof Buitink

An american citizen with the dutch underground

Roelof Buitink, an american citizen with the dutch underground.

Roelof Buitink is an american boy of sixteen years old as the second world war breaks out in Holland. After Germany declared war on the United States in december 1941, Roelof and his family are transported to Camp Amersfoort, where they are kept until the spring of 1942. The Americans are not as worse off as the dutch prisoners that are kept in the camp, but they are hungry all the time. Over a period of time all Americans were released how ever the german kept a close eye on all of them. See www.kampamersfoort.nl for more details about what happened in Camp Amersfoort during the second world war.

Roelof Buitink and his family had been released from the camp by the time the bombers started bringing food.

Here are some of the pictures Roelof took at the food dropping at the racetrack Duindigt.

The racetrack was used as a V2 launching platform. The British Spitfires straffed it regulary. One spitfire crashed near the Buitink's home.

The Manna Monument at Terbregge

Place of commemoration

At the exact spot of one of the dropzones overlooking the freeway at Terbregge is the Manna monument located. It symbolizes the belly of an allied bomber filled with food parcels. The monument has been the central location of the Manna / Chowhound commemorations since its unveilling in 2006. One year later the Air Commodore Geddes footpath was opened next to the memorial.

Diary of Norman Coats

Belly turret gunner, 390th Bomb Group

May 3 - "Another mercy mission to Holland. We went deeper into Holland today. Very low altitude. I believe I must have waved at everyone in Holland. It is really a shame the ocean being turned into Holland. The great fields of tulips are beautiful. They had, "Thank You" spelled out with rocks. They could see me waving at them because they would point each others attention to it. Some of them had American flags waving them."